Social media is the fastest growing platform for business marketing, but it can be very difficult to navigate if you are not familiar with it. Most individuals got into the commercial cleaning business because that was their strong suit, not business development; marketing; or technology. This makes social media marketing especially difficult for individuals who are not savvy in those areas of expertise. Today we are going to breakdown social media for you; what, why, which platforms, and how to use social media to further develop and market your commercial cleaning business.  

What is Social Media?

By Webster’s definition social media is “forms of electronic communication (such as websites for social networking and microblogging) through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages, and other content (such as videos)”. Taking this one step further you can create profiles for yourself as an individual or for your company as a business. We would recommend that you create an account for yourself first if you haven’t already, to get a feel for the applications and test things out before using your business profile.

Why Should I Use Social Media?

You should use social media because quite frankly, everyone else is. If someone attempts to look your business up on social media to do a little research on you and you don’t have a profile, that is going to seem off-putting to them. In a world where almost everyone relies on social media, it is becoming almost as utilized as Google as a platform for gathering information. One of the main benefits of having social media is that your clients can tag you in posts of photographs of your work, leave you reviews, and suggest you to other users by “tagging” your page. This is 100% free advertising; all it takes is a little bit of your time.

Which Platforms Should I Use?

So you’ve decided to use social media to market your company, good choice. Now the next step is deciding what platforms work best to boost business for commercial cleaning companies in your area. The major forums for social media include the following applications and websites: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn. A huge part of growing your business is to know your competitors. Ask yourself these questions about their social media use and do some research of your own:

• What social media are they utilizing?
• Are people engaging with their posts? (liking, commenting, or sharing the posts) and what types of posts are getting the most engagement?
• How often are they posting on each website or application?
• Have others mentioned your competitor’s social media before? If so, what did they say they liked about it?

Every business definitely needs to have a Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram account. Facebook is used for every type of post; written posts, videos, links, advertisements, offers, and more. I would suggest starting your business’s social media journey with Facebook because they have a fantastic program that walks you through how to use Facebook business and gives you tips and tricks to getting started. Instagram is a photo sharing application that is great for using visuals that demonstrate your company’s skills. 

Pro-Tip: Use Instagram to show before and after photos of your commercial cleaning contracts to show what a difference your services can make.

Twitter is mainly used for writing or sharing articles; if your company writes blogs or has a good amount of written content, then Twitter is a fantastic social media tool to utilize. LinkedIn is used as a business to business community socializing platform. This can be very beneficial for commercial cleaners because you are targeting mainly businesses for contracts, not individuals necessarily. Pinterest is a photo and idea sharing blog, which is not relevant to commercial cleaners unless you work in a niche area.

How Do I Use These Platforms to Grow My Business?

Generate Content. The first thing you want to do is fill your pages with informative, visually appealing, and engaging content. You don’t want to try to direct people to your page until there is something to look at or they will most likely move along and never look back. Some great ideas for posts are:

• An introduction video: Make a good quality video explaining who you are, what you do, what makes you great at it, any recognition or awards you’ve gotten, and anything else you find relevant.
• Offer a special through your platforms: For example, $50 off your first time clean or a free quote.
• Before and After photos.
• Any examples of great photos of your work.
• Photographs of your staff with bios so your potential customers feel like they know and trust these individuals.
• Turn past reviews into content.

Invite all of your past/current customers, friends/family, and anyone in your email list to follow or “like” your business page. Grow your following however you can. 

After you’ve got your page full of content and individuals following your accounts, start posting engaging content. This means posting things that warrant a response; giveaways that require your followers to tag their friends or share your page, surveys, tell stories about your company’s past experiences (funny ones are okay – it doesn’t always have to be uptight and overly professional), selfies that your staff take while working, behind the scenes pictures, funny cartoons about facility cleaning that you can find on google, and things that aren’t strictly about commercial cleaning (ex - relatable photos or memes as shown below).

Engage with your followers, don’t forget to be yourself. Finding the perfect balance of keeping it professional, fun, and personal will make your social media thrive and grow.

Remember that while social media may take some time to get started, if you haven’t already, the payoff can be big in the end. And for all of your commercial cleaning supply needs, look no further than Action Unlimited Resources.